Author's Notes: I know it may seem like progress is going a little slow, but that is fully intended and you'll all see why as the story unfolds :) Hope whoever is reading this here is enjoying it, I would love to know what you think of the story so far...


By morning, Faith had pushed aside the events from the night before, acting as if nothing had changed, as if nothing had happened. It was what she was used to doing and it was one of the masks she always put on. She expected to be the first one awake, yet wasn't surprised to walk into the kitchen to find Buffy already there and trying to figure out how the coffeemaker worked. Faith was about to point out that it wasn't plugged in when Buffy rolled her eyes and reached for the plug herself. There was tension between them, familiar tension along with something else, something new.

Faith tried not to let Buffy's apparent bad mood get to her as she grabbed the orange juice out of the fridge and quickly poured herself a glass, offering some to Buffy who just shook her head no and flipped through the paper she had laid out on the counter. Faith knew she was avoiding looking at her, but she wasn't sure why. She knew it had to do with whatever happened last night and with that look she'd seen Buffy give her, the look that brought them right back to square one. Before she could even say a word, Giles walked into the kitchen and mumbled his good morning under his breath as he filled up the kettle and placed it on the stove.

She listened as Giles and Buffy quietly discussed a plan for regular training. She couldn't stop herself from staring over at Buffy, her eyes drinking in every inch of her without being too obvious she was checking her out. She was allowing her libido to take over and finding it nearly impossible to control it any longer. She closed her eyes and brought her hands up to rub her throbbing temples, trying to pay attention to what Giles was saying instead of listening to the rapid beats of her heart thumping in her head. She grabbed a clean mug and poured herself a cup of coffee, still trying to listen as the two of them discussed training and patrol schedules.

It wasn't long before everyone was awake and in the kitchen. Faith just poured herself another cup of coffee and headed out back to sit at the picnic table with hopes that maybe she'd be able to sit out there alone in peace and quiet for a little while. She realized her wishes had gone unheard by the Powers that Be when she heard the unmistakeable sounds of Kennedy and Willow's laughter as they walked out of the house and headed towards her with the others following close behind carrying coffee and plates of food.

Faith just grabbed her mug and moved to go sit around the other side of the tree on the ground, laughing to herself as Kennedy walked around and sat down next to her. "You really don't know when someone wants to be left alone, do you?"

"Oh, you want...I'll just..."

"What did you want, Ken?"

"I kind of wanted to talk about last night, but if now isn't a good time, seeing how you are in a bitchy mood and all, I'll just..."

Faith stopped her from getting up and let out a soft sigh. "What about last night?"

"Where'd you go?" Kennedy asked quietly, then raised an eyebrow at Faith when she only shrugged. "You went back to the club, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Hearing you and Red go at it kinda just...drove me a little nuts."

"You were...oh...great," Kennedy laughed as she leaned against the tree next to her. "Just don't let her know you heard us. She'll get all wiggy over it all."

"Yeah, definitely not gonna say a word. Kind of afraid of what she'd do to me," Faith chuckled as she glanced over at Willow sitting around the table with the others. "She might not look scary, but I heard stories of what it was like when she got into the dark magic for awhile."

"I heard the stories too," Kennedy said quietly as Faith turned to look back at her. "Have you heard about the training schedule Giles wants us on?"

"Yeah, heard bits of it earlier."

"Isn't it a little...too much?"

"Nah, you'll get used to it. Trust me, you'll be very fucking thankful for the long hours of training you'll put yourself through on those nights when the baddies are coming at ya left and right with no end in sight."

Faith barely recognized herself for saying that, but she felt Buffy's eyes on her just then. She didn't even need to turn and look to confirm it. She just knew. She shrugged as she looked over at Kennedy and took a sip of her coffee. She might not be able to change everything about herself, but she knew where her responsibilities lay within the group. She was a Slayer and she knew where she belonged in the world as a Slayer, but as a woman, as Faith Lehane, she didn't know where she belonged at all. It had always been that way and she knew it was stupid to think that things could change that easily.

She pulled her cigarettes from her front pocket and offered Kennedy one. She shook her head, refusing, and Faith shrugged and lit her cigarette, inhaling deeply as she leaned her head back against the tree. The morning sun was warm, warmer than it'd been since they had left California, and she knew everyone was enjoying the warmth and the soft, barely there breeze. She felt it again, just sitting out there with everyone else, that sense of home, of acceptance, of belonging, but it only lasted for a few short seconds before she slammed up those walls of hers, fearing the same thing as always would happen yet again. She closed her eyes, trying to find her center somewhere among all the chaos of voices inside her head and when she opened her eyes she felt a sense of calm wash over her, fill her, and ease her tired mind of the thoughts that just wouldn't go away.

She got to thinking about the things Buffy had said to her the other night, about them being a family now. She was starting to see it and feel it just being out there with everyone and she found it easier than she'd thought to let the sound of laughter wrap itself around her and make her smile. However, it was Buffy's smile, when they finally did look at one another, that made her heart skip a beat or two, that smile that made the rest of the world just fall away until all she saw was her.

"You're falling for her, aren't you?" Kennedy whispered softly as she leaned in closer to her. "Don't even try to tell me you aren't. Anyone with eyes can see it."

"What the fuck ever, Ken," she sighed as she took yet another long drag of her cigarette, her eyes not once leaving Buffy as she watched her animatedly talk to Willow and Dawn. "So what if I am?"

"Wait, correction," Kennedy chuckled softly. "You're falling for her again, aren't you?"

"Already fell pretty fuckin' hard," Faith replied, figuring it was better just to admit it than try to deny it as she always had in the past. Denying it had gotten her into trouble; it had pushed her into the darkness. "It ain't like it matters how I feel about her. She's never gonna feel the same way and besides, she's too good to ever be with someone like me. And, in case ya haven't noticed," she said softly as she tore her eyes off of Buffy to look at Kennedy, "she's straight. Very straight."

"You sure about that?" Kennedy asked softly, raising an eyebrow in disbelief when Faith only nodded her head. "I think you need to take another look, Faith."

"Believe me. I've looked and I've looked again and I always seem the same thing."

"Look just a little bit differently."

"Whatever, Kennedy. I don't want to talk about this. I don't even know why we're talking about this in the first place."

Kennedy gave her a wink and a smile as she stood up and joined the others around the table. Faith watched as Kennedy whispered something to Willow that made her eyes open wide in shock as she looked over at Faith. Rather than feeling the need to kill Kennedy for probably telling Willow that she was falling for Buffy, that she had already fallen for her, she just let it slide. She couldn't care less if anyone knew, since it was obvious to anyone with eyes, as Kennedy had so blatantly pointed out to her. Obvious to everyone but Buffy, it seemed.

Now things started to make a little more sense to her, at least when it came to their rocky history and the rough start they'd had trying to establish a friendship. There was a mutual attraction, at least on some level, and that alone was creating a bit of a rift they had to both get past. It was what sent her mind into overdrive, made her want to push those thoughts out and run as far and fast as she could away from them. It was what made her just want to fall back into old habits since they were easier to deal with than what she was going through when it came to her feelings for Buffy. She wanted to push all those feelings aside, knowing if she didn't, everything would become awkward and once the awkwardness had passed, the darkness would find a way to come back and take over her life yet again.

"We all make mistakes and we all push others away, but that's what makes us human. All too human."

Robin's words were still haunting her, that one line in particular. He'd been right and not just when he'd said that, but he'd been right about everything. It made her almost want to let the tears she felt building up fall, but she held them back as she crushed out her cigarette in the dirt next to her and closed her eyes. She'd never felt so much before, never thought so much, either. If she was there alone she'd blame the energy coming from the Hellmouth for her strange behaviour, but she wasn't alone and she knew that a lot of it had to do with the people she was surrounded by now. People that she'd never been accepted by before and were now welcoming her into the fold with their arms wide open. She knew even if Robin was there, even if the two of them went off on their own, it'd still be the same.

Faith opened her eyes slowly, tilting her head just enough to look back at the others sitting around the table. She wanted to join them, join in on the laughter that flowed through each and every one of them. She wanted to actually feel like she was a part of the family they'd created. It wouldn't happen instantly, she knew that, and she knew that despite what Buffy had said to her, the others probably didn't quite feel the same way yet. She didn't even know why she cared so much about being a part of their family in the first place. Maybe it was because she'd never been before and it was that one thing she wanted whether she would ever admit it or not.

She finished off her coffee, slightly cold now with her having forgotten about it. She headed back inside quickly, just wanting to get another cup of coffee and slip out to the front to possibly have a few minutes alone. Buffy was right there before she even had a chance to pour herself a fresh cup, placing her mug on the counter as she smiled sweetly.

"Thanks," Buffy said softly as Faith poured her some coffee. "You've been awfully quiet this morning."

"Yeah," she shrugged as she picked up her mug and leaned against the counter.

"How come?"

"Just am. Why does it fucking matter?"

"I was just trying to make conversation, Faith. Forget that I even bothered."

"Sorry. I'm just in a weird mood today. Didn't mean to...take it out on you. We're okay, aren't we?"

"Since when weren't we?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. "Kind of saw the way you looked at me last night. Not sure what it all meant either."

"I know where you went off to," Buffy said softly, unable to meet her eyes. "Don't you think it's time to change, Faith? That 'get some, get gone' routine is getting old and honestly," she sighed as she turned to look at her, "honestly it makes you look like the big slut you always were."

"Is that supposed to hurt me, B? Cos I must say, ouch. Got me right where it hurts the most," she chuckled dryly as she clutched at her chest. "Does it make ya feel any better to know I haven't changed? Makes ya realize that you've probably been right all along about me, doesn't it?"

"I never...do we really have to do this, Faith?" Buffy asked tiredly as she turned to look at her, finally allowing herself to stare deeply into Faith's eyes as they stood just a few feet apart. "That 'look' you saw last night was just disappointment because I thought maybe you'd changed, that maybe you'd figure out you don't need to be like that anymore. It was stupid to think that maybe you'd try to change that about yourself."

"It's one of those things I just can't change about myself," she shrugged. "Does my sex life bother you or something, B?"

"No...I..."

"I'll try to be a little more discreet about it then, how about that? Does that work for ya? Kind of like that whole 'don't ask, don't tell' deal."

"Why are we even...you know what, don't answer that," Buffy said as she shook her head, making no effort to move from where she leaned against the counter next to her. "I want to get past all these things with you, Faith. I feel like some stuff is really holding us back. It doesn't have to be that way."

"So, what way is it supposed to be then, B?"

"I don't know. Definitely not like this."

"How are we gonna change it then?" Faith asked softly as she slid a little closer to Buffy without realizing what she was doing. "We can't keep doing this."

"Doing what exactly?"

"Picking each other apart, waiting for that moment to find something just to..." Faith trailed off as she sighed softly. "Remember what you said about family, B?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Dunno, but my point is, I'm trying to feel like I'm a part of this family and for some fucked up reason I can't. I don't know if it's cos I'm not ready to feel like I'm a part of what you guys all have, or what. I think I still feel like I'm not good enough for you."

The last part was whispered so softly she'd barely even heard her own words. It was laced with a double meaning and she knew that Buffy picked up on it. She could feel it coming from her as their eyes slowly met. Faith fought that urge to step forward and lean down to capture Buffy's lips with her own, to kiss her and to use her lips to say the words she couldn't say through a kiss. She couldn't do it, though. It'd destroy whatever little bit of a friendship they'd managed to piece together. It was fragile and something as big as a kiss would shatter any hopes of having a real, strong friendship with one another.

She looked at her differently, as Kennedy had said before to do, and she saw it, just a little. She saw something there, but it quickly disappeared as the others came back inside. She'd let her thoughts consume her and she tried to shake the vulnerability off as Giles explained to her that she'd be spending the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon down in the basement helping Buffy train Kennedy. Buffy could barely even look at her as the two of them headed down to the basement with Kennedy trailing behind them, mumbling under her breath how much she thought it sucked to have to be stuck training inside all day when it was such a beautiful day outside.

Faith set up the mats along the floor, unable to stop herself from looking over at Buffy as she and Kennedy stretched out along the mats that were already laid out. She groaned softly as she began her own stretches, knowing it was going to be a long couple of torturous hours down there in the basement. Between her attraction to Buffy—that only ever seemed to grow worse when they were training or out on patrol—and the fact that Kennedy was picking up on it, she was in for a very interesting day.

****

The three of them were laid out on the mats, panting heavily from the latest round of three-way sparring they'd done. Kennedy had been a quick learner, picking up on both Buffy and Faith's moves after watching them have a quick round together. Giles had come down to monitor their training an hour before and left when he knew that Buffy and Faith had it all under control.

"Is it going to be like this every day, is it?" Kennedy asked as she pulled herself up from the mats and tried to stretch out standing up. "Because I have to say, damn."

"No, this is just..." Buffy sighed as she leaned up on her elbows and looked over at Faith. "A couple days here without any training and we're already out of shape."

"Yeah," Faith chuckled as she made no effort to move. "Don't worry, Ken. It'll get easier."

"Whatever," she laughed with her as she headed for the stairs. "We're done, right?"

"Yeah, we're done," Faith nodded as she turned to look at Buffy next to her. "We are done, right?"

Buffy nodded as she laid back on the mats and closed her eyes. Faith waited until Kennedy had gone up the stairs and closed the basement door before she sat up slowly and looked down at Buffy, wiggling her eyebrows as she leapt to her feet and pulled Buffy up before she could even blink.

"Feel like another round, B?"

"Now?"

"Why not? Still feeling all sorts of worked up," Faith said with a smirk as she stepped back and stood in her fighting stance, ready for more. "Come on, y'know ya want to. I can just taste that you haven't had enough yet, B."

"I don't know," Buffy said as she smiled a little as she moved to her fight stance as the two began to slowly circle one another. "You think you can take me?"

"I can always take you," she chuckled as she picked up the pace, trying to find a way to throw the first move without Buffy seeing it coming first. "The question is, B, can you take me?"

"I know I can. The real question is," Buffy mocked as she swept her leg around, catching Faith off guard and sending her flat on her back down on the mats, "now do you think that you can take me?"

"It's gonna be like that, is it?" Faith laughed as she stood up slowly, licking her lips as she waited in anticipation for more. They both stopped circling one another as the basement door opened and Giles called them upstairs. "Gonna have to continue this another time, huh?"

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, her voice tinged with a mix of both disappointment and relief. "I think he's probably afraid if we're down here alone we'll end up trying to kill each other."

"Maybe."

Faith stayed back and watched Buffy walk up the stairs, sighing heavily as she tried to stop the flood of lascivious thoughts that were now running rampant through her mind. It was hard with the adrenaline running through her body from the workout she'd just had, but she took a few deep breaths, burying the thoughts she had of fucking Buffy on the floor, up against the wall, taking her in ways she'd never been taken before, and headed upstairs. She knew she really had to stop those thoughts from coming to her. They were becoming more vivid and harder to control each and every time she allowed them to take over. It was what had ruined everything for her before and even though she'd once thought she could manage to hide the way she felt and the things she thought, she knew it was transparent now. If Kennedy could see it, Buffy surely could.

Giles was waiting for them in the living room and from the dozens of books scattered over the coffee table Faith knew there was something going on. He wasted no time in starting the meeting, explaining how they'd need to find out the exact location of the Hellmouth before it got too late. With the Council having been destroyed along with almost all the records they kept, Giles didn't know where the Hellmouth was located. Faith could see how nervous that made him despite the way he tried to keep his confidence that, between all of them, they'd find it sooner rather than later.

Andrew had his share of theories and he ran them off, one by one. Faith just sat in the chair she favoured most and listened with as much enthusiasm as she could. Her eyes wandered over the room, falling upon Buffy as she sat on the couch next to Willow and Xander. By the time the short meeting was over, Faith was already running up the stairs to have a quick shower. Buffy wasn't too far behind her and they both made a mad dash for the second bathroom while Kennedy ran for the other.

"Come on!" Buffy growled as she tried to pull Faith away from the door. "I was so here first!"

"In your dreams, Twinkie. I'll save some hot water for you," Faith laughed as she slipped into the bathroom and quickly shut and locked the door behind her. She heard Buffy kick the door and it only caused her to laugh again as she turned on the water, watching as the steam began to fill the small bathroom. "Keep it up and I'll make sure there's no hot water left!"

"You are so infuriating!" Buffy groaned as she kicked the door once more before she walked away.

Faith just shook her head, relaxing at the way things had changed between them over the course of the afternoon. She stripped out of her clothes and stepped under the hot spray of water, unable to wipe the smile off of her face. The small yet playful banter was slowly coming back between them. It'd been the odd jab there and a joke here while they'd been training and sparring with Kennedy. It felt too easy, too natural just to be that way around one another. Whatever had changed over the last week had changed again throughout the course of the day. She wasn't going to question it, instead she was only going to embrace it and allow things to continue changing between them.

She finished up in the shower quickly and headed straight for her room, knocking on Buffy's door as she passed to let her know the shower was free. Half an hour later everyone was down in the living room once again and going over the plans for patrol that night. They were all going out in search of the Hellmouth. Faith stood next to the couch, peering down at the map as the others discussed a route and ways to cover the city while searching for the Hellmouth.

"Guys," Faith said softly as she stared down at the map and the areas that had been highlighted in red. "Guys, seriously, look."

"What?" Xander said as he moved to stand next to her and peered down at the map. "No way."

"Yes way," she chuckled as she touched her finger to the center point between the four red areas. "Should be around here. Makes sense, right? I say we go right for that area, check it out before we go anywhere else. Something tells me we'll find it around there."

Giles peered over at the map and smiled up at Faith as he pulled out an old Watcher's diary from the stack of books he had near his chair. "You may be close, Faith. I'm not sure why we didn't see this before. It is rather obvious that the amount of activity would surround the Hellmouth itself."

"This is what I was saying before," Andrew said as he shook his head at all of them. "Nobody ever listens to me!"

"What's the plan then?" Faith asked, ignoring Andrew as she looked over at Buffy. "B? The plan?"

"You and I are going to check that area out. The others," she said as she looked around at everyone else, "are going to stay behind."

"What? Why?" Kennedy asked almost angrily as she stood up from the couch, the force of her rising nearly pulling Willow up with her. "We're supposed to be a team, Buffy."

"I know, but Faith and I can handle this ourselves."

"Whatever," Kennedy muttered as she sat back down and quietly apologized to a frazzled Willow.

"You two report back as soon as you can if you locate the Hellmouth," Giles said softly to both Buffy and Faith. "We'll cover the rest of the patrol areas ourselves. I know you two have heard it before, but please do be careful."

"Always am," Buffy smiled as she motioned for Faith to follow her. They opened up the front hallway closet and Faith just raised an eyebrow as Buffy slid open the panel at the back to reveal a rather wide selection of weapons. "What? While you've spent your days sleeping, we've been busy."

"So I can see," she laughed as she reached in and pulled out one of the crossbows. "Where'd ya get all this?"

"Sporting goods store. Now, pick something a little less bulky. It's not the same as Sunnydale and I highly doubt we'll be able to walk down the streets with weapons and not get stopped by the cops."

"What happened to the scythe?"

"Willow has it hidden in the basement," Buffy replied as she pulled out a couple of stakes and handed Faith one. "Giles is worried that we'll be targeted because of it. It may be even more powerful than we know and it's best kept hidden away for now."

"Too bad. It's a kick ass weapon. You can seriously demolish anything that stands in your way."

"We'll save it for the next apocalypse," Buffy said with a small smile as she closed the panel and stepped out of the closet. "You ready to head out?"

Faith nodded and said nothing more as she grabbed her jacket and opened the front door, smiling at Buffy as she walked out first. They barely said a word, barely looked at each other for the first couple of blocks they walked. The sun was still up, but it was close to setting and Faith could feel the energy from the Hellmouth buzzing more intensely the closer they got. They walked through a neighbourhood that was mostly full of abandoned houses and stores that were boarded up. It was eerily quiet and the only sounds were their footsteps as they walked down the sidewalk side by side.

She was getting a bad feeling about the neighbourhood the further they walked down the street. She looked over at Buffy, knowing she was getting the same feeling, and they came to a stop just outside an old boarded up store. The buzz of energy was more intense and Faith motioned for Buffy to follow her as she headed around to the back of the store and kicked in the door. There was dust everywhere.

"Nobody's been around here for a while," Faith said quietly as she looked back at Buffy.

"How do you know that?"

"The dust," she said as she pointed to the floor. "It's all even. Not a single footprint."

"And you are just going to walk in there without...Faith!" Buffy groaned as she followed Faith inside, grabbing onto her before she could open the door that lead down to the basement. "Stop and think about this for a minute."

"Empty store, empty neighbourhood," she said slowly and pointed down the stairs. "Hellmouth is down there, B. Can't you feel it?"

"I definitely feel something," Buffy said softly as she let go of Faith's arm. "Shouldn't we go back and tell Giles?"

"We should make sure we're right about it being here first, don't ya think?"

Buffy rolled her eyes but followed Faith down the steep stairs. Buffy was clutching onto Faith's arm by the fifth step, which was where the stairs gave way and sent them suddenly tumbling down the rest of the way into the dark basement. Faith groaned as she landed with Buffy on top of her, the wind slightly knocked out of her from the impact of the fall. She allowed herself a minute to let her eyes adjust to the darkness before she looked at Buffy. There was slight awkwardness as Buffy got up from on top of her and looked around the basement. Faith just stood back and watched as Buffy wandered around the dark basement until she found the only light and pulled on the flimsy cord. The single bare bulb barely lit up the empty, drab basement, but the evident hole dug in the ground was the one thing that stood out the most.

"I guess we found the Hellmouth," Buffy said softly as she moved to stand next to Faith.

"Yeah, guess we did."

"You okay?" Buffy asked as she looked at her, reaching for the arm Faith was clutching close to her.

"Just uh...the fall kind of shook me up," she replied, shaking it off as if it was no big deal despite the now very evident pain shooting through her left arm. "We're kind of screwed getting back up, though."

"Yeah," Buffy sighed out as she looked over at the broken stairs. "Great."

They both made their way around the basement and from what they both could tell, aside from the cement dug out around the seal, nothing else had been disturbed in a good long while. Faith went back to stand by the stairs, clutching at her sore arm and cursing under her breath, thankful she hadn't popped her shoulder on the fall down the stairs. She cracked her neck as she leaned against the wall and watched as Buffy knelt down next to the hole in the floor to inspect the seal. She let out a soft sigh as she walked back over to Faith and looked up to where the stairs had once been.

"We should probably get out of here," Buffy said softly as she looked at Faith and over at the gap in the stairs. "You want to give me a hand?"

Faith hoisted Buffy up before she could even say another word and once she was at the top of the stairs she reached down to pull Faith up with her. They tried to cover their tracks and any evidence that they'd been in there. There was no telling what was around there just waiting for them to leave. The Hellmouth was definitely out in the open, not particularly in your face open, but it was there. They knew that if they had come across it, anything else out there could as well, especially now that they'd disturbed the building the Hellmouth resided under.

They walked back to the house in silence, neither of them saying a word or looking at one another. Faith just rubbed her sore arm, trying not to make such a big deal out of how much it was bothering her. She also kept looking back behind them, feeling as if something was there following them, yet every time she looked back she saw nothing. Buffy continuously looked back as well and sighed out in annoyance about a block away from the house as she stopped, grasping Faith's arm and bringing her to a halt too.

"What gives, B?"

"You feel it too, don't you?"

"Feel what? Like something is following us?"

"Yeah...I think so."

"Well, there's nothing there," Faith shrugged as she looked back, still rubbing her arm lightly. "And watch the arm, B. Kind of fuckin' sore from when you landed on it before."

"Sorry."

"So, what's the deal you think?"

"About what?"

"The Hellmouth just being out there the way it is and yet..."

"I have no idea."

Faith let out a soft sigh. She knew now wasn't the time for small talk—or any kind of talk for that matter—with Buffy. She could feel how anxious she was just to tell the others about the location of the Hellmouth. Faith was feeling uneasy about it. There was just something too easy about it all that didn't sit right with her. It didn't help that it had been a long day and she was, as usual, going on very little sleep. She was sure that it didn't help with that uneasiness she was feeling. They tracked Giles down about half a block from the house and, after rounding up the others, they headed for the abandoned store to show him the exact location of the Hellmouth. Faith stayed out back while the others went inside, rubbing her sore arm slowly while keeping an eye out on the shadows around her.

She spent about a half an hour listening to the others talking inside while Giles and Willow figured out if there was a mystical barrier already in place surrounding not just the Hellmouth itself, but the entire neighbourhood. To her it made complete sense that there was some sort of mystical barrier and it seemed like everyone but Giles seemed to agree with that theory. After a heated argument exploded between everyone inside, Buffy, followed by Xander, stormed out and stood next to Faith, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Sometimes they are just too goddamn stubborn for their own good," she muttered under her breath as she looked over at Faith. "You feel like heading to the cemetery for a quick patrol?"

"Nah, I'm good right now, B. Besides," she said softly as she motioned to the door behind them, "we should stick around just in case shit goes down. Feeling like something is completely off about this whole thing. I know that you feel it too."

"Feel what?" Xander asked as he looked over at both of them. "You mean besides the fact that it is completely creepy around here?"

"Tell me you feel it too, B. You did before," Faith said softly, wanting some kind of confirmation that she wasn't completely losing the last bits of her sanity.

"Something doesn't feel right," Buffy replied as she moved to stand a little closer to Faith, shivering as the breeze picked up. "It feels like something following us, maybe. There's definitely something at least watching us."

"Hold up," Xander said as he stepped closer to them, shivering as they looked up at him. "You telling me that something is out there following you and watching you? What, like ghosts or something?"

"Or something else we can't see," Buffy said as she reached out and lightly ran her fingers over Faith's arm. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Little better."

"What happened to your arm?" Xander asked, looking down at her as he scratched his forehead just above his eye patch. He took a step back when Faith didn't answer him and he shook his head as he leaned against the building. "All right, I get it. You don't want to talk. I'll just stand right here and let you Slayer types deal with whatever you gotta deal with."

Faith could only laugh as she went to stand next to him. "Buffy kind of landed on me earlier if ya gotta know all the details."

"She landed on you?"

"Stairs fell in, she fell with me. On top of me, whatever. And wherever your mind just went, Xand," she chuckled as she slapped him playfully across his shoulder, "you are completely on your own there."

"Wait, what?" Buffy asked, standing in front of both of them, a look of pure confusion flickering across her face. "You've completely lost me."

"That's okay, Buff," Xander smirked as he looked down at Faith, giving her a quick wink before he put his arm around Buffy. "I'll clue you in on the walk back to the house. It'll probably bore you, maybe make you laugh, but whatever you do, you gotta promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

He leaned in to whisper something into her ear and Faith could only stand there leaning against the wall and watch as Buffy's eyes showed pure amusement, then a flash of anger as she pushed Xander away. Faith hadn't heard what he said to her, but she had an idea. If she didn't find it funny in her tired state of mind, she would have challenged Buffy over the right to kick his ass.

That one little moment, a light-hearted moment between friends, was all they really needed when it came down to the reality of their lives each and every day. The laughter that erupted between the two of them only made Faith smile and laugh right along with them. For now she'd lose herself to the silliness of the moment and laugh for whatever reason if not for any reason at all. After all, there was no telling what would happen or how long it'd be before they'd next spend a few moments like this.